Sex Roles (2011) 64:290–298
DOI 10.1007/s11199-010-9929-5
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Content Analysis of Gender Roles in Media: Where Are We
Now and Where Should We Go?
Rebecca L. Collins
Published online: 22 January 2011
# Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2011
Abstract This paper provides a commentary regarding the
quantitative content analyses of gender roles in media
published in the two special issues of Sex Roles (Rudy et al.
2010a, 2011). A few themes and some overarching lessons
emerge from the wide variety of data presented. First, it is
clear that women are under-represented across a range of
media and settings. Second, when women are portrayed, it is
often in a circumscribed and negative manner. Women are
often sexualized—typically by showing them in scanty or
provocative clothing. Women are also subordinated in various
ways, as indicated by their facial expressions, body positions,
and other factors. Finally, they are shown in traditionally
feminine (i.e., stereotyped) roles. Women are portrayed as
nonprofessionals, homemakers, wives or parents, and sexual
gatekeepers. Although the studies generally support these
conclusions, some interesting moderating factors are identi-
fied, such as race. It is suggested that next steps involve the
development of theory and a body of empirical evidence
regarding the effects of exposure to under-representation of
women. Data concerning the effects of exposure to sexualized
or stereotypical portrayals on young audiences is also lacking.
Finally, content analyses of new media, including those
created and distributed by users, are recommended as a next
step. It is concluded that, while increasing the representation
of women in media may be valuable, it is also critical that the
manner in which they are portrayed be simultaneously
considered to avoid increasing negative or stereotypical
depictions that may be particularly harmful to viewers.
R. L. Collins (*)
RAND,
1776 Main Street,
Santa Monica, CA 90407, USA
e-mail: collins@rand.org
Keywords Media effects . Content analysis . Gender roles .
Sex
Introduction
Content Analysis of Gender Roles in Media: Where Are We
Now and Where Should We Go?
The articles in these special issues of Sex Roles (Rudy et
al. 2010a, 2011) and the information they provide
represent a long stride forward in our understanding of
the manner in which women are currently depicted in
media (see Table 1 for a list of these papers). The studies
cover a broad range of content and look at a variety of
issues under the general theme of gender roles. In the
context of this diversity, it is perhaps surprising that results
converge as much as they do. When this body of work is
viewed as a whole, some key messages emerge, as do
some clear gaps in knowledge. While some of the
contributions are theoretical or methodological, I will
concentrate here on the substantive conclusion that most
of them have in common: The studies make clear that
women are under-represented in media, and that when
women are present they are typically scantily dressed
and relegated to stereotypical roles. While these patterns
are clear, the articles also identify some variations in
them that may be the starting ground for future avenues
of research, including differences by race, sexual
orientation, and nation. Below, I review and discuss
the findings, noting some critical issues in interpreting
and applying them, as well as pointing out where key
gaps in our knowledge remain and providing sugges-
tions for next steps in the field.
Sex Roles (2011) 64:290–298 291

Table 1 Articles in the two special issues of Sex Roles and their coverage of select content

Article Title Reference Under-Representation Sexuali-zation Subordi-nation Traditional Body

Rolesa Image

Gender role portrayals in Indian television ads Das (2010) X X

Women Are On, But Not In, the News: Gender Desmond and Danilewicz (2010) X
Roles in Local Television News
Keeping Abreast of Hypersexuality: A Video Downs and Smith (2010) X X X
Game Character Content Analysis
Crime Scene Investigation: The Chief Finger et al. (2010) X
Inspectors’ Display Rules
Violent Female Action Characters in Gilpatric (2010) X X
Contemporary American Cinema
Sex Roles in Health Storylines on Prime Hether and Murphy (2010) X
Time Television:
A Content Analysis
Progression on Nickelodeon? Gender-Role Kahlenberg and Hein (2010) X X
Stereotypes in Toy Commercials
Fifty Years of Advertising Images: Some Mager and Helgeson (2010) X X X
Changing Perspectives On Role Portrayals
Along with Enduring Consistencies
Gender in Spanish Daily Newspapers Matud (2010) X
Gender Stereotypes Depicted by Western Nam et al. (2010) X X
and Korean Advertising Models in
Korean Adolescent Girls’ Magazines
Shaken and Stirred: A Content Analysis Neuendorf et al. (2010) X
of Women’s Portrayals in James Bond Films
Content Analysis—A Methodological Primer Neuendorf (2010)
for Gender Researchb
Examination of Gender-role Portrayals Paek et al. (2010) X X
in Television Advertising across
Seven Countries
The Context of Current Content Analysis Rudy et al. (2010b)
of Gender Roles: An Introduction to
a Special Issuec
Whose Voices are Heard? Gender, Sexual Schwartz (2010) X
Orientation, and Newspaper Sources
Assessing Gender-Related Portrayals in Smith et al. (2010) X X
Top-Grossing G-Rated Films
Sex and the Spectacle of Music Videos: An Turner (2010) X
Examination of the Portrayal of Race and
Sexuality in Music Videos
Performing Gender: A Content Analysis of Wallis (2010) X X
Gender Display in Music Videos
On the Perils of Living Dangerously in the
Slasher Horror Film: Gender Differences
in the Association Between Sexual
Activity and Survival Welsh (2010) X
Female Body Image as a Function of Zhang et al. (2010) X
Themes in Rap Music Videos:
A Content Analysis

a
Traditional Roles include profession, preferred toy-type, facial expression, sexual gatekeeper, and parent or relationship partner
b
Methodological Paper
c
Review Paper

Women are Under-represented
Under-representation Holds Across Multiple Media
and Content Types
One message that emerges from these special issues, and
does so with overwhelming clarity, is that women and girls
are under-represented across a wide variety of media.
Table 1 provides an overview of the articles included in
the two special issues. In the table, articles are categorized
to reflect coverage of each of several gender-role content
areas: under-representation, sexualization, subordination,
traditional roles, and body image. Of the 18 empirical
articles appearing in the issues, half (nine) measure the
frequency with which women versus men are portrayed. All
of these find that women are under-represented in at least
one content category. That women seldom appear on
television is by no means a new finding (cf. Gerbner and
292
Signorielli 1979). But it is noteworthy that the disparity in
portrayals of males and females has persisted over decades,
during which the roles of women in society have broadly
expanded. Three decades ago, Gerbner and Signorielli
(1979) found that television primetime males outnumbered
females by a ratio of 2.5 to 1 in the years spanning 1969–
1978. Producers and writers at that time might have argued
that women did not serve in the societal roles television
series wished to depict, constraining their ability to include
them. Indeed, in 1950 there were 2.5 men for every 1
woman participating in the U.S. paid labor force (U.S.
Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics 2000).
Over the decade examined by Gerbner and Signorielli,
rates were better—about 1.66 men for every woman
(Fullerton 1999). But at last count (in 2008), the ratio
was down to 1.2 to 1 (males to females) (U.S. Department
of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics 2009). So, while
women have progressed to nearly representative rates of
participation in the working world, the “reel” and print
worlds have continued to overlook them. This is particu-
larly startling in the context of changes in the media
environment over this period. The number of commercial
television channels received in most homes has leaped
from three to well into the three-digits, providing a much
wider variety of programming than in the past. These
shifts provide additional opportunity for women to be
represented, but in the analyses presented in these issues
of Sex Roles, there is little evidence this has taken place,
and suggest that instead they are now relatively absent
from a broader set of venues.
Hether and Murphy (2010) find women represent 38%
of the major characters appearing in health storylines on
popular primetime television programs. Male sources also
appear almost three times more often than female sources in
newspaper coverage of same-sex marriage (Schwartz 2010)
and nearly twice as often in local television news coverage
of a variety of topics (Desmond and Danilewicz 2010). In
music videos drawn from five music-oriented television
networks, male characters outnumber females by a ratio of
3 to 1 (Turner 2010). Smith et al. (2010) find that the ratio
of males to females in top-grossing G-rated (general
audience) films is 2.57 to 1. The place women were
least likely to appear was video games. Downs and
Smith (2010) find that only 70 of 489 (i.e., 1 in 7)
characters appearing in the best-selling console games are
females. These articles and analyses are far from doc-
umenting women’s under-representation in all media, or
even in a representative sample of any one medium. But
they focus on important content to which large numbers of
persons are regularly exposed, and the relative absence of
women in this diverse set of media is striking, suggesting
a media world closer to the working-world reality of 1950
than to 2010 society.
Sex Roles (2011) 64:290–298
The Consequences of Under-Representation Are Unknown
One key goal of content analysis is to examine whether
media have characteristics that might influence users’
attitudes and behaviors, either negatively or positively. As
Rudy et al. (2010b) note, there are other reasons to conduct
content analyses, but examining media for their potential
effects is the one in which society has the greatest stake.
Thus, the overwhelming pattern of under-representing
women begs the question of how this affects consumers
of media content. If young girls do not see themselves
reflected in media, will this diminish their sense of
importance and self-esteem? Will boys conclude that
women and girls are unimportant, as well? Will girls lack
role models? Will adult women feel disenfranchised?
Does the under-representation of women constrict soci-
etal perspectives and information in important ways?
Indignation over the lack of minority representation in
media catalyzed a social movement (see Greenberg et al.
2002), and the lack of female representation recently led
to the founding of See Jane (www.seejane.org). See Jane
is a project of the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in
Media that works with the entertainment industry to
increase the number of girls and women in media aimed
at children. These activities are founded on the belief that
under-representation of females has meaningful and
problematic effects. While this seems a reasonable
conjecture, our theories provide little basis on which to
rest hypotheses about the consequences of representation
in media, or lack thereof.
Bandura’s social cognitive theory (2002) suggests that
similarity to those portrayed in media is important to
learning from their behaviors. Others argue that identifi-
cation with a character (e.g., Dal Cin et al. 2007; Slater
and Rouner 2002) and transportation by narrative (Dal Cin
et al. 2004) are critical to media influence on beliefs and
behavior. These processes may require similarity to
operate, in other words, girls may require the presence of
females in order to learn from their example. However,
Greenberg and Atkin (1982) presented results indicating
that while Black and White youth are equally likely to
identify with White television characters, Blacks are far
more likely than Whites to identify with Black characters.
Other work indicates that girls are more likely to identify
with male protagonists than boys are with female
protagonists (Oatley 1996). Perhaps those who are
represented less often in the media adapt by more easily
identifying with dissimilar others, allowing them to be
involved viewers even though they do not see themselves
reflected in terms of gender or race. A greater understand-
ing of the processes of identification and transportation
and how they operate (if at all) among persons who
seldom see themselves reflected in media is needed.
Sex Roles (2011) 64:290–298
Other psychological processes might be triggered when
viewers find themselves unrepresented. It has, for example,
been suggested that self-esteem may suffer. Empirically, I
know of only one study in which research has linked
viewing content in which one’s demographic characteristics
are not depicted and negative behavioral or attitudinal
effects. McDermott and Greenberg (1984) linked the
viewing of television programming with Black characters
to higher self-esteem among Black fourth and fifth graders.
But the study was small and preliminary in nature, and
there are other data that appear inconsistent with its results
—in spite of being heavier users of media than whites
(Rideout et al. 2010), and being portrayed in those media
far less often (Greenberg et al. 2002), Black Americans’
self-esteem tends to be higher than that of White people
(Twenge and Crocker 2002). Of course, there may be other
contributors to self-worth that override any negative effect
of under-representation in media on Black viewers. But it is
important that we develop theory on the question of under-
representation, and that research begins testing for effects.
This is as critical for the under-representation of women as
it is for minorities, the study of which Greenberg et al.
(2002) described as “acutely essential.”
Although it is not entirely clear what to predict about the
general under-representation of women in media, it is easier
to surmise effects of omitting them from specific areas of
content. One study in the special issue suggests that a lack
of female representation might affect the nature and quality
of political debate surrounding gay rights. In a special case
of the overrepresentation of men, Schwartz (2010) shows
us that this pattern holds for men and women serving as
sources for coverage of same-sex marriage appearing in
four U.S. newspapers. The overall ratio of male to female
sources was three to one. Males’ perspectives, which are
more negative toward gay persons than females’ (Herek
2002), dominated the views expressed, and this may have
helped to limit support for same-sex marriage.
Among a subset of sources, those who are gay, under-
representation of women was present only in newspapers
from cities where smaller percentages of gay men and
women reside (Ohio and Oklahoma) (Schwartz 2010). It is
my informal impression that lesbian service members have
been largely absent from the discussion of repealing the U.
S. military’s Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (DADT) policy, as well,
but are present in the military in numbers as great as those
of gay men (RAND National Defense Research Institute
2010). Lesbians are more accepted by the general public
than gay men, and their service in the military and marriage
to one another may also be more accepted. Including
lesbians in news coverage might alter general reactions to
these issues. More research on when and how lesbians are
represented in discussions of same-sex orientation issues is
urgently needed. Understanding how representation of
293
women (or the lack of it) influences attitudes towards gay
individuals is critical as the U.S. wrestles with issues of gay
rights in these and other domains.
Another specific area where we might generate predic-
tions regarding the impact of under-representation is in the
realm of health-related content. Hether and Murphy (2010)
find that women are less likely than men to appear in health
storylines from popular fictional programming. Less than
40% of characters playing significant roles in health
storylines were women, across the categories of sick
person, caregiver, and bystander. The stories in which
women and men appeared were of equal prominence, were
equally serious in tone, equally educational, and equally
likely to contain information about factors such as
diagnosis, treatment and prevention—but women appeared
less often. For viewers who learn about health problems
through entertainment television (a not insignificant portion
of the population) (Brodie et al. 1999), the less frequent
presence of female characters undergoing serious medical
problems may mean women know less about the health
problems that may affect them and how to detect and
address them. The authors note that stories about women
often focus on maladies specific to women’s bodies, such as
breast cancer or reproductive issues. This is interesting in
that it parallels the focus of health research for many
decades. Few studies of heart attack, for example, involved
female samples, and as a result women’s risk for cardio-
vascular disease was largely overlooked for many years
(Bird and Rieker 1999). In a media equivalent to this, fewer
storylines about women may be equivalent to less infor-
mation for women.
Here again, some testing of this hypothesis is a clear
next step. Do women learn as much when they see
storylines about men as when the same information is
presented about women? Is it as likely to spur them to
action—to get tested for a disease, take preventative
measures, or look for more information about the issue? It
seems likely, given what we know about the importance of
identifying with a character in the process of observational
learning (Bandura 2002; Dal Cin et al. 2007), but we need
more evidence on this issue.
Women are Portrayed in Circumscribed Roles
Women are Sexualized
Although the articles in these special issues contain more
consistent evidence on the under-representation of women
than on any other point, when it comes to predicting effects
on media consumers, how women and men are portrayed
may be much more important than whether they are
portrayed. Many of the Sex Roles studies indicate that
when women do appear in media, they appear in sexualized
294
or subordinated roles. As Table 1 indicates, five of the
articles in the special issues code for and find sexualization
of women, and four code for and document subordination
of women. In the realm of “be careful what you wish for,”
simply increasing the prevalence of women among charac-
ters in media might exacerbate any problematic effects of
media use unless the manner in which women are portrayed
is also addressed.
Much of what is presented on this topic in the special
issues is about the ground where sex and gender overlap—in
gendered sexual scripts and sexual gender scripts. For
example, in their content analysis of best-selling console
video games, Downs and Smith (2010) find that 41% of
female characters wore revealing clothing and an equal
number were partially or totally nude. And many of these
women had unrealistically proportioned bodies. There was
no parallel to these findings in the manner that male
characters were portrayed. Notably, the researchers rarely
found portrayals of either talk about sex or sexual
behavior—only six instances of either were observed in
60 video games depicting 489 characters. The games were
not about sex, but about sexy women.
Similar themes emerge in the article by Zhang et al.
(2010). They find that the representation of thin women in
rap music videos is equally common to White and Black
female characters appearing in them. That is, about half of
all female characters of either race (51%) were rated by
coders as thin. The authors compare this to U.S. national
data indicating that only 24% of women (across races) are
thin. They might have further noted that Black women are
about 50% more likely to be overweight than White women
(U.S. Centers for Disease Control, MMWR 2009). So, rap
video overrepresentation of thinness is probably greater for
Black women than White, in spite of what their analysis
indicates. However, it is probably more important that the
authors find links between character weight and video
theme. Thinness was associated with themes of sexuality
and materialism, suggesting that it is a marker for the same
sort of sexual objectification of women documented by
Downs and Smith (2010).
Sex is also a theme in a second study comparing White
and Black music videos. Turner (2010), finds that Black
videos (characterized as such based on the genre of music
as well as the apparent race of the characters) are more
likely to include sexual content and to include female
characters in provocative clothing. Overall, 59% of videos
contained sexual content. Most characters did not wear
provocative clothing, but those who did were more likely to
be Black and more likely to be women.
These findings raise serious questions regarding the
advisability of advocating for greater inclusion of women,
and greater inclusion of Blacks, in media without simulta-
neously addressing other issues of content. Prior work
Sex Roles (2011) 64:290–298
indicates that women’s and girls’ self-esteem, body image,
and emotional well-being may be adversely affected by
exposure to media that are sexually objectifying (APA
Taskforce 2010; Grabe et al. 2008). Social learning
(Bandura 2002) and other theories of media use (Huesmann
2007; Steele 1996) suggest that these kinds of portrayals
may also affect viewers’ sexual attitudes and behavior,
particularly during adolescence when youth are actively
coming to terms with their identities (gender and otherwise)
and their sexuality. Empirical research bears this out;
content that sexually objectifies or degrades women can
alter adolescents’ sexual beliefs (Ward 2002) and behavior
(Martino et al. 2006).
Sexual Content is Not the Same as Sexualization
Although the reports in these special issues are careful in
their conclusions, these theories and findings have some-
times been stretched a bit thin, so it bears repeating that
there are parameters surrounding these effects. Exposure to
sexual content or partially clothed women is not, in itself,
likely to foster problematic body image among girls, or
reduce their self-esteem. Nor will sexual content or nudity
necessarily lead boys to see girls and women as objects.
But it is theoretically likely to have such effects if the body
types portrayed are idealized (i.e., “hypersexualized”), if
the lack of clothing is disproportionately characteristic of
women, and if the images or other content subordinates
women (APA Taskforce 2010; Calvert and Huston 1987;
Grabe et al. 2008). Sexual content per se is not likely to
foster negative attitudes toward anything except celibacy or
virginity (Collins et al. 2004). Likewise, partial nudity may
lead viewers to dress in scanty clothing, but whether it
results in the objectification of women or of oneself
depends on the way in which nudity is portrayed.
These distinctions sometimes get lost in discussions of
results, even when researchers are meticulous in describing
the processes involved and the bounds on their empirical
findings. Reporters, advocacy groups, and the public
sometimes translate the research into something more like
the morality-based concerns they are accustomed to
hearing, or use it to advocate for censorship of sexual
content. For example, Fox News (2007) titled its report of
findings from the APA Taskforce on the Sexualization of
Girls (APA 2010) “Report: Sexual Images Psychologically
Damaging Young Girls.” The report did not argue that
sexual images damage youth, but rather, that images in
which young girls are portrayed as sexual objects might
damage young girls who are exposed to them. To be fair,
the accompanying text correctly described the findings, but
those who paid attention only to the headline would have
been seriously misled. More problematic was the use of the
report to advocate for a boycott of Dove beauty products
Sex Roles (2011) 64:290–298
(LifesiteNews.com 2007). Dove’s parent company, Uni-
lever, had launched a television advertising campaign that
featured nude older women and the slogan “beauty has no
age limit.” American Family Association noted the
study’s call for reducing sexualized images of women
and girls and the possible damaging effects of exposure
to these images as if these conclusions applied to the
Dove campaign. But the definition of sexualization set
out clearly by the report was not met by the campaign.
In fact, the Dove campaign might be considered a
positive media image, in that it countered an idea that
was cited as problematic in the report—that only young
women and those with particular body types are
attractive (APA 2010).
In short, emphasizing the subtleties involved in sexual-
ization is critical. This is true first, because overdrawing or
oversimplifying findings, or allowing others to do so,
ultimately undermines the credibility of researchers. And
second, because, should policy or practice be based on the
research, it is critical that it target the right set of portrayals.
Content analysis has the ability to capture some of these
subtleties and make them clear. Many of the articles in
these special issues represent fine examples of this, and
future work should follow and build upon them.
Broader Gender Stereotypes Are Also Present
Many of the studies in these special issues focus on
stereotypical portrayals of women apart from the role of
“sex object.” Nine of the studies appearing in the special
issues code for some sort of traditionally female (i.e.,
stereotypical) role and find evidence that it appears
commonly in media. Das (2010) finds that the percentage
of women versus men shown in Indian television advertis-
ing is not dramatically discrepant (women were far less
likely to appear in voice-overs for the ads, however). Of the
627 characters identified and coded in their analysis, 43%
were female and 57% male. And women were not more
typically portrayed as housewives, but they were more
likely to be depicted in relationship roles, and to represent
products for the body or clothing than were men. Men also
represented stereotypically male products, such as automo-
biles and electronics. This again suggests that simple
solutions such as increasing the rates at which women are
represented will not produce “better,” “fair,” or realistic
portrayals. Indeed, in their cross-national analysis of
television ads, Paek et al. (2010) show that in the single
country where women were not under-represented, South
Korea, the roles in which women appeared remained those
traditionally associated with females. Women were over-
whelming more likely to play the role of housekeeper and
men were overwhelmingly the choice to portray profes-
sionals and even office workers.
295
Research Frontiers: What We Still Need to Know about Sex
Roles in Media
Theory and Research on Consequences
of Under-Representation
As noted above, we are short on theory and empirical
evidence regarding the consequences of consuming media
in which one’s gender is chronically under-represented. Are
there likely to be effects, on whom, and through what
process(es)?
New Media
In their introduction to these special issues, Rudy et al.
(2010b) point out that published content analyses of gender
roles have seldom examined gender depictions in so-called
“new media,” and the same is true of the studies in this
special issue. The papers presented focus on traditional
media such as television, film, music, and newspapers. But
the media landscape is evolving at a startling pace, with a
greater diversity in content, new types of media, and new
platforms for delivering media constantly emerging. The
variety of content available on the Internet is practically
limitless, and includes what were previously “other media”
such as music, television, games, and films. Moreover,
content can now be viewed or used on computers, mp3
players, handheld video players, and cell phones, as well as
on television sets. Adults use a variety of media and
increasingly engage with these media on diverse platforms
(Simmons New Media Study 2009). But adolescents, in
particular, are immersing themselves in such content.
In 2009, Kaiser Family Foundation (Rideout et al. 2010)
surveyed more than 2,000 young people ages 8–18 years
from across the U.S. regarding their media use. Youth spent
a total of 10 h and 45 min each day using various media.
Television was still the medium of choice and viewing it
takes up the largest chunk of adolescents’ media use,
accounting for nearly 4.5 h of media time. Music/audio was
second, accounting for about 2.5 h of use. Nonetheless,
newer media—computer use and video game use,
accounted for 1.5 and 1.25 h of youths’ media time,
respectively. And a large minority (20%) of media
consumption (about 2 h) took place using mobile platforms
such as cell phones, laptops and handheld game players. As
with traditional media, Black and Hispanic youth spent
somewhat more time with most of these activities, relative
to White youth. We know almost nothing about content of
newer media, or about how it varies depending on the
platform used to access it. Thus, it is critical that
researchers begin to study them systematically.
New media use permits exposure to content, as with
traditional media. But it also affords a chance to create and
296
distribute media. Sixty-four percent of online teens ages
12–17 have created and posted content on the web,
ranging from having a personal webpage to blogging and
posting artwork, photos and videos. New media also
allow an opportunity to publicly comment on portrayals.
Many online activities are highly social relative to
traditional media use, including social networking, email,
chat room participation, and instant messaging, as well as
video games that can be played by multiple online
players and using voice over protocols that permit
conversation between these players.
These unique features of new media raise a few
additional questions worthy of study. In particular, just as
the content of professionally produced media is likely to be
influenced by the gender of those who create it, content
created by users in interactive environments, whether
videos, blogs, or comments on such, is likely to be
influenced by gender. Thus it is important to track this
content and the gender of participants in these media
platforms and content types. Presently, girls spend more
time on social networking sites than boys, and less time
game playing and watching or posting videos. Does this
influence gender portrayals in these media?
Positive Portrayals
There was little discussion in any of the papers regarding
content that might depict women particularly positively.
Are there positive images of women in media, or images
that run counter to traditional gender roles or stereotypes? If
so, where do they reside? Given what we know from the
articles in these issues, there are likely to be few such
portrayals, making it difficult detective work to track them
down, and obtaining enough of them for a quantitative
analysis even more taxing. But discovering where they
reside, and why they are there, may be as important as
identifying problematic portrayals.
Linking Content to Effects
That my own research (e.g., Collins et al. 2004; Martino et
al. 2006) has focused on testing the effects of media is
perhaps obvious from the emphasis I have placed on
outcomes of exposure in this overview. That work has
relied heavily on collaboration with colleagues who know
far more about the science of content analysis than do I, and
on methods that meld content analysis with survey
research. Those who study media effects increasingly come
from different disciplines than those who study content, and
the two camps often have different perspectives and
theories and are trained in different methodologies. Many
media-effects researchers are ill-equipped to conduct
rigorous, scientifically sound analyses of gender content.
Sex Roles (2011) 64:290–298
As a consequence, they tend to focus on testing associa-
tions between use of a medium (e.g., hours of television
viewing) and outcomes—an approach that is inadequate in
a diverse media universe, and that under the best of
conditions can provide only indirect evidence of content
effects. Conversely, many who conduct content analyses are
at least as interested in the effects of the content they are
describing as the content itself, but have little experience in
the kinds of large scale surveys used to test associations
between media exposure and outcomes. Interdisciplinary
work that pairs these methodologies has pushed forward our
understanding of media effects in realms like sexual content
(e.g., Brown et al. 2006; Collins et al. 2004) and portrayals of
substance use (e.g., Heatherton and Sargent 2009). Rudy et
al. (2010b) note in their overview that such approaches are
rare, but I believe we will see much more of them as
interdisciplinary collaboration increases in the sciences.
Forging relationships between survey and experimental
research and content analysis provides the possibility of
realizing the greatest potential from both fields and having
the most substantial and informed impact on media practice.
Conclusion
On their own, each of the articles in these special issues adds
to the body of science addressing gender roles in media. Some
of the articles further theoretical understanding, others add
methodologically, and some enhance the general body of
evidence with applications to new arenas or caveats regarding
the differences in portrayals by nation or race. When
combined, their contribution is a substantial shift in the state
of knowledge and stage of research in this area. The least
surprising of their findings, that women are under-represented
and women are sexualized, are so clearly documented across
such a variety of media and settings that it is clearly time for
the next stage of research—testing the impact of this on media
audiences. Although there is existing research on this topic, it
is in a relative stage of infancy.
References
American Psychological Association, Task Force on the Sexualization
of Girls. (2010). Report of the APA Task Force on the
Sexualization of Girls. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/pi/
women/programs/girls/report-full.pdf.
Bandura, A. (2002). Social cognitive theory of mass communication.
In J. Bryant & D. Zillmann (Eds.), Media effects: Advances in
theory and research (2nd ed., pp. 121–154). Mahwah: Lawrence
Erlbaum Associates.
Bird, C. E., & Rieker, P. P. (1999). Gender matters: An integrated
model for understanding men’s and women’s health. Social
Science & Medicine, 48, 745–755. doi:10.1016/S0277-9536(98)
00402-X.
Sex Roles (2011) 64:290–298
Brodie, M., Kjellson, N., Hoff, T., & Parker, M. (1999). Perceptions of
Latinos, African Americans, and Whites on media as a health
information source. Howard Journal of Communications, 10,
147–167.
Brown, J. D., L’Engle, K. L., Pardun, C. J., Guo, G., & Jackson, C.
(2006). Sexy media matter: Exposure to sexual content in music,
movies, television, and magazines predicts black and white
adolescents’ sexual behavior. Pediatrics, 117, 1018–1027.
doi:10.1542/peds.2005-1406.
Calvert, S. L., & Huston, A. C. (1987). Television and children’s gender
schemata. In L. S. Liben & M. L. Signorella (Eds.), Children’s
gender schemata (pp. 75–88). San Francisco: Jossey Bass.
Collins, R. L., Elliott, M. N., Berry, S. H., Kanouse, D. E., Kunkel, D.,
Hunter, S. B., et al. (2004). Watching sex on television predicts
adolescent initiation of sexual behavior. Pediatrics, 114, e280–
e289. doi:10.1542/peds.2003-1065-L.
Dal Cin, S., Zanna, M. P., & Fong, G. T. (2004). Narrative persuasion
and overcoming resistance. In E. S. Knowles & J. A. Linn (Eds.),
Resistance and persuasion (pp. 175–191). Mahwah: Erlbaum.
Dal Cin, S., Gibson, B., Zanna, M. P., & Fong, G. T. (2007). Smoking
in movies: Implicit associations of smoking with the self, and
intentions to smoke. Psychological Science, 18, 559–563.
doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2007.01939.x.
Das, M. (2010). Gender role portrayals in Indian television ads. Sex
Roles. doi:10.1007/s11199-010-9750-1. this issue.
Desmond, R., & Danilewicz, A. (2010). Women are on, but not in, the
news: Gender roles in local television news. Sex Roles, 62, 822–
829. doi:10.1007/s11199-009-9686-5.
Downs, E., & Smith, S. L. (2010). Keeping abreast of hypersexuality:
A video game character content analysis. Sex Roles, 62, 721–733.
doi:10.1007/s11199-009-9637-1.
Finger, J., Unz, D. C., & Schwab, F. (2010). Crime scene
investigation: The chief inspectors’ display rules. Sex Roles, 62,
798–809. doi:10.1007/s11199-009-9722-5.
Fox News (2007). Report: Sexual images psychologically damaging
young girls. Retrieved from http://www.foxnews.com/story/
0,2933,252859,00.html
Fullerton, H.N. Jr. (1999). Labor force participation: 75 years of
change, 1950-98 and 1998–2025. Monthly Labor Review, 122.
Gerbner, G., & Signorielli, N. (1979). Women and minorities in
television drama 1969–1978. Philadelphia: The Annenberg
School of Communications, University of Pennsylvania.
Gilpatric, K. (2010). Violent female action characters in contemporary
American cinema. Sex Roles, 62, 734–746. doi:10.1007/s11199-
010-9757-7.
Grabe, S., Ward, L. M., & Hyde, J. S. (2008). The role of the media in
body image concerns among women: A meta-analysis of
experimental and correlational studies. Psychological Bulletin,
134, 460–476. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.134.3.460.
Greenberg, B. S., & Atkin, C. (1982). Learning about minorities from
television: A research agenda. In G. Berry & G. Mitchell-Kerman
(Eds.), Television and the socialization of the minority child (pp.
215–243). New York: Academic.
Greenberg, B. S., Mastro, D., & Brand, J. E. (2002). Minorities and the
mass media: Television into the 21st century. In J. Bryant & D.
Zillmann (Eds.), Media effects: Advances in theory and research
(2nd ed., pp. 333–351). Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Heatherton, T. F., & Sargent, J. D. (2009). Does watching smoking in
movies promote teenage smoking? Current Directions in Psycho-
logical Science, 18, 63–67. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8721.2009.01610.x.
Herek, G. M. (2002). Gender gaps in public opinion about lesbians
and gay men. Public Opinion Quarterly, 66, 40–66. doi:10.1086/
338409.
Hether, J., & Murphy, S. T. (2010). Sex roles in health storylines on
prime time television: A content analysis. Sex Roles, 62, 810–
821. doi:10.1007/s11199-009-9654-0.
297
Huesmann, L. R. (2007). The impact of electronic media violence:
Scientific theory and research. Journal of Adolescent Health, 41,
S6–S13. doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2007.09.005.
Kahlenberg, S. G., & Hein, M. M. (2010). Progression on Nickel-
odeon? Gender-role stereotypes in toy commercials. Sex Roles,
62, 830–847. doi:10.1007/s11199-009-9653-1.
Mager, J., & Helgeson, J. (2010). Fifty years of advertising images:
Some changing perspectives on role portrayals along with
enduring consistencies. Sex Roles. doi:10.1007/s11199-010-
9782-6. this issue.
LifesiteNews.com. (2007). Boycott of Dove products urged as nude
ads air prime time. Retrieved from http://www.lifesitenews.com/
news/archive/ldn/2007/mar/07030501
Martino, S. C., Collins, R. L., Elliott, M. N., Strachman, A., Kanouse,
D. E., & Berry, S. H. (2006). Exposure to degrading versus non-
degrading music lyrics and sexual behavior among youth.
Pediatrics, 118, 430–441.
Matud, P. M. (2010). Gender in Spanish daily newspapers. Sex Roles.
doi:10.1007/s11199-010-9874-3. this issue.
McDermott, S. T., & Greenberg, B. S. (1984). Parents, peers and
television as determinants of Black children’s esteem. In R.
Bostrom (Ed.), Communication yearbook 8 (pp. 164–177).
Beverly Hills: Sage.
Nam, K., Lee, G., & Hwang, J. (2010). Gender stereotypes depicted by
western and Korean advertising models in Korean adolescent girls’
magazines. Sex Roles. doi:10.1007/s11199-010-9878-z. this issue.
Neuendorf, K. (2010). Content analysis—A methodological primer for
gender research. Sex Roles. doi:10.1007/s11199-010-9893-0. this
issue.
Neuendorf, K., Gore, T. D., Dalessandro, A., Janstova, P., & Snyder-
Suhy, S. (2010). Shaken and stirred: A content analysis of
women’s portrayals in James Bond films. Sex Roles, 62, 747–
761. doi:10.1007/s11199-009-9644-2.
Oatley, K. (1996). Inference in narrative and science. In D. R. Olson &
N. Torrance (Eds.), Modes of thought: Explorations in culture and
cognition (pp. 123–140). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Paek, H., Nelson, M. R., & Vilela, A. M. (2010). Examination of
gender-role portrayals in television advertising across seven
countries. Sex Roles. doi:10.1007/s11199-010-9850-y. this issue.
RAND National Defense Research Institute. (2010). Sexual orienta-
tion and U.S. military personnel policy: An update of RAND’s
1993 study. Santa Monica: RAND Corporation.
Rideout, V. J., Foehr, U. G., & Roberts, D. F. (2010). Generation M2
media in the lives of 8- to 18-year olds. Menlo Park: Kaiser
Family Foundation.
Rudy, R. M., Popova, L., & Linz, D. G. (2010a). Content analysis
[Special issue]. Sex Roles, 62, 705–847.
Rudy, R. M., Popova, L., & Linz, D. G. (2010b). The context of
current content analysis of gender roles: An introduction to a
special issue. Sex Roles, 62, 705–720.
Rudy, R. M., Popova, L., & Linz, D. G. (2011). Content analysis II
[Special issue]. Sex Roles, this issue.
Schwartz, J. (2010). Whose voices are heard? Gender, sexual
orientation and newspaper sources. Sex Roles. doi:10.1007/
s11199-010-9825-z. this issue.
Simmons New Media Study (2009). New media study discovers
Americans need 38 hours per day to complete their tasks.
Experian Simmons Press Center. Retrieved from http://www.
smrb.com/web/guest/press-release-new-media-study-discovery.
Slater, M. D., & Rouner, D. (2002). Entertainment-education and
elaboration likelihood: Understanding the processing of narrative
persuasion. Communication Theory, 12, 173–191. doi:10.1111/
j.1468-2885.2002.tb00265.x.
Smith, S. L., Pieper, K. M., Granados, A., & Choueiti, M. (2010).
Assessing gender-related portrayals in top-grossing G-rated
films. Sex Roles, 62, 774–786. doi:10.1007/s11199-009-9736-z.
298
Steele, J. (1996). Teenage sexuality and media practice: Factoring in
the influence of family, friends, and school. Journal of Sex
Research, 36, 331–342.
Turner, J. S. (2010). Sex and the spectacle of music videos: An
examination of the portrayal of race and sexuality in music
videos. Sex Roles. doi:10.1007/s11199-010-9766-6. this issue.
Twenge, J. M., & Crocker, J. (2002). Race and self-esteem: Meta-
analyses comparing Whites, Blacks, Hispanics, Asians, and
American Indians and comment on Gray-Little and Hafdahl
(2000). Psychological Bulletin, 128, 371–408.
U.S. Centers for Disease Control, MMWR. (2009). Differences in
prevalence of obesity among Black, White, and Hispanic Adults
—United States, 2006–2008. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly
Reports, 58, 740–744.
U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2000).
Changes in women’s labor force participation in the 20th century.
Sex Roles (2011) 64:290–298
U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2009). Women
in the labor force: A databook. (Report No. 1018).
Wallis, C. (2010). Performing gender: A content analysis of gender
display in music videos. Sex Roles. doi:10.1007/s11199-010-
9814-2. this issue.
Ward, L. M. (2002). Does television exposure affect emerging adults’
attitudes and assumptions about sexual relationships? Correla-
tional and experimental confirmation. Journal of Youth and
Adolescence, 31, 1–15. doi:10.1023/A:1014068031532.
Welsh, A. (2010). On the perils of living dangerously in the slasher
horror film: Gender differences in the association between sexual
activity and survival. Sex Roles, 62, 762–773. doi:10.1007/
s11199-010-9762-x.
Zhang, Y., Dixon, T. L., & Conrad, K. (2010). Female body image as
a function of themes in rap music videos: A content analysis. Sex
Roles, 62, 787–797. doi:10.1007/s11199-009-9656.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.